So, hi. Now that I'm back from my trip to Russia, here are some pics of the food we had over there.

Teremok, a Russian fast-food joint. We ate there twice, and imo, that was one trip too many. The food was tasty, but very heavy. In St. Petersburg.Blini filled with beef and mushroom."Caesar" salad. The dressing was just sour cream, so I'm not sure how it can count as a caesar. Liked the pine nuts, tho.

Marketplace, a lunch-counter style cafe we went to a couple times for lunch. In St. Petersburg.My first experience with shashlik (grilled meat kebab). It was ok. The lingonberry/cowberry tart was faaaaaaaaaaaaantastic.

Okay, but the feta over there is completely different than the feta that is common stateside. Its creamy, smooth, and spreadable, as opposed to the chalk-like crumbles that are so common. I'll need to search my grocery stores here for some of the good stuff. We had a lot of greek salads, because it was so simple and a delicious start to our meals.At an Armenian restaurant in Vyborg, below are the bottles of beer we tried. (I liked the purple label, but I still don't read Russian.)

Our first night in Vyborg, we ate in a cellar tavern. I had a veal cutlet to end all veal cutlets, oh my gosh.Sorry for the photo quality.

Vyborg breakfasts consisted of a porridge, plenty of bread, cheese and cold cuts, eggs, sweet cookies, and coffee, all made by the lovely ladies at our host church.

Later, in Vyborg, at a beach-side restaraunt who's name I never learned, I had my favorite shashlik from the trip. Mozzarella and arugula salad, lamb sashlik and Narsharab (pomegranate sauce- not pictured). The chocolate mousse dessert was also verrrry delicious.

Dinner in Helsinki, stewed reindeer in a pickle broth over mashed potatoes. Not my favorite, but checked reindeer off my "to try" list. I'd like to try it prepared another way, however.

Outside Moscow, at Archangelskoye, authentic Beef Stroganov. Tastes just like we make at home, so that's reassuring. Served over boiled potatoes and with salad.

Not Pictured:There are a lot of pictures I forgot to take, or got deleted in the course of my uploading to facebook and consequent deleting, then realizing that the uploads failed, and crying, but here are the some meals (that I remember) that I don't have pictures of:

-Lunch in Helsinki, a massive portion of grilled salmon, boiled potatoes and vegetables. We were too busy fending off seagulls to take pictures of our food.-More Greek salads. Always delicious, with a light vinaigrette. So many Greek salads, I'm dreaming of that feta...-at Varnichnaya, a restaurant chain in Moscow: Siberian Pelmeni (beef/lamb) with mushroom gravy, Greek Salad, and a glass of Tarchun (blech! I can't stand the strong licorice flavor!) Also, a warm salad with lamb and crispy onions.- at Teremok: caesar filled blini (it was ok, better than the other), and a chocolate banana filled blini (very good!)